The Way to Man's Heart is Through his Stomach REWRITE!
by Clarissa Eden
Summary: There is a new Chef on board the Enterprise. Within hours of her arrival many of the officers have fallen in love with her food, but her life is far more complex than it appears to be. Why does Spock feel drawn to her? And to what lengths will he go to learn about this new woman aboard the ship? Spock/OC.
1. Chapter 1

"For the love of all that is holy! Jim!" Dr Leonard McCoy exclaimed as he was dragged down one of the hallways of the Enterprise. "I don't have time for your games. I have three new doctors to put the fear of God into waiting for me in sick bay. I'll eat later damn it!"

James Kirk, Captain of the USS Enterprise, just laughed and smirked over his shoulder at his best friend, who was in the process of trying to dig his heels into the floor. "But Bones, we've been assigned a new chef in the Officer's Mess. And I've heard she's hot, like unbelievably hot. And her foods supposed to be pretty damn good as well. So I need my wing man, and if not you might get lucky yourself."

Dr McCoy could only roll his eyes at the Captain. He knew it would be pointless to argue with Jim on the subject, anyway he was too far away from sickbay no to even contemplate trying to make a run for it now. "Fine! But you know what Jim? If you come into sickbay and one of the newbies fucks you over, medically, because I couldn't scare them enough not to make mistakes, it'll be your own fault."

"That's the spirit Bones." Jim commented back with a knowing grin on his face as they came up to the Officer's Mess. "After you."

Upon walking into the mess, Leonard McCoy, was hit by a scent that sent him straight back to his home. It was like he had been transported back to his grandparent's farm. When he was a child almost all of the cooking had been done over a wood burning stove, with his grandmother and mother preparing the evening meal for the whole family. He often thought about his childhood, not that he would admit to it. When he and his sister would play before dinner, more often than not they would come to the table filthy, and would be sent away to wash up before they were allowed to eat. Dinner had always been a family affair in the McCoy household. It was always a calming time. Arguments and disagreements from the day would be dropped, everyone would come together in harmony and laughter filled the air. So once again, Bones found himself longing for home, or at least a small part of it.

"Oh my god, that smells amazing." Jim gasped as he came up alongside his friend.

McCoy found himself grinning. "You know what Jim? This reminds me of home, from when I was a kid. Our house always smelt like this, my Ma was an exceptional cook."

"I'm not going to argue with you there Bones. Anything that smells this good can't taste bad." Jim murmured as he glanced around the room at his officers, he could tell that they were also enjoying the meal; it was a welcome change to what they had been getting before from their pervious chef. Whoever this new woman was, she certainly already had a fan in Bones, and that was almost impressive in itself; Bones could be a difficult man to please.

The sound of the doors opening behind them caused both the Captain and the CMO to turn around, only to be greeted with the appearance of Spock, the third member to the trio.

"Good evening Captain, Dr McCoy." Spock greeted the two men, nodding at each in turn. "Dr McCoy, I was hoping to ask your opinion on some peculiar data the ship's sensors picked up during a diagnostic." Spock produced a PADD from behind his back, "they appear to be organic in origin."

Jim couldn't help but smile at the peculiar relationship his CMO and First Officer had developed over the three years since the 'Nero' incident. It was somewhat strained at times, but it was civil for the most part; though the occasional scathing remark still passed between the two from time to time. But ever since Spock had learned that Bones had an interest in molecular biomechanics any anomaly that the ships sensors picked up was duly mentioned to the good Doctor. If Jim didn't know any better, he would have thought that Spock was attempting to get Bones to like him.

"Captain Kirk?" a voice with a soft lilting accent called out to him from across the room.

Jim turned and looked up and was met by a stunning pair of warm brown eyes. A pair of eyes that were now making their way over to him. As the eyes came closer, Jim managed to tear his own away to assess the person that they belonged to. She was just as stunning as her eyes were. She wasn't very tall, probably around 5'3'', but she possessed the grace of a dancer, with her long loosely curled brown hair bouncing slightly as she walked over to them, with a smile gracing her face.

"My goodness Sir, please take a seat. I will not have it said that I don't look after the officers in my care. I'm your new chef for the Officer's Mess by the way." She reached out her hand to the Captain, "My name is..."

"Elizabeth?"

Jim glanced to his left at his best friend, he was confused. How did Bones know this stunning creature? Better yet, if Bones knew her, why didn't he? Where the hell had she been hiding for the past six years?

"Hey Leonard," the apparently named Elizabeth smiled softly, "long time no see… Big Brother."

"My God, Elizabeth! What the hell are you doing here?" Bones asked his sister gawking at her as though he had never seen her before. Though the question was one of disbelief than anger as the word suggested.

Elizabeth smiled sheepishly, a small blush covering her cheeks. "I work here. Surprise!" She lifted her hands about her head, as if to say ta'da. She then walked over to her elder brother, who stood a good head height over her and then some, and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

Jim wasn't sure of what surprised him more, the fact that Bones had a sister, one that he had clearly been hiding, that a member of Bones's immediate family was hot or that his moody ass of a best friend was hugging this young woman back. Jim cleared his throat, causing the alleged siblings to break away, both of them smiling like idiots with Bones' arm now wrapped around her shoulder.

"My God Lizzie, I haven't seen you in so long. Why?" Bones queried in a demanding way, that still held a soft edge to it.

Elizabeth couldn't help but grin at her older brother again. "I've been about. Travelling the Universe, practicing my craft, getting into a little bit of trouble here and there; you know just the usual stuff. And as you can tell by the fact this is my Mess Hall now, I'm quite good at what I do. Told you I'd get on just fine without going to medical school, Mr Doctor." She was teasing him now.

Bones laughed at this comment, all the while knowing full well that she would never have been able to stand medical school, before realising somewhat abashedly that he had yet to introduce Elizabeth to their present company. Clearing his throat, Bones continued, "Jim. Spock. This delightful young lady here is my dear baby sister Elizabeth McCoy."

Jim stepped forwards offering his hand to Elizabeth. "It is a pleasure to meet you Elizabeth, and may I just say you are far more attractive than your brother here. Tell me, how is the gene pool in your family so diverse?"

Elizabeth laughed at the Captain's comment and only laughed harder when her brother cuffed him over the back of his head for his trouble. "No sir, the pleasure is all mine. Working here, on the Enterprise, it's like a dream come true for me. I get to make people happy with the food I cook. I have to say though; the guy I replaced left this place in a right awful state. I've never seen such a mess. And I've never seen a kitchen so reliant on that new replicator technology, well not any more Sir. I will not have replicated food pass through my Mess Hall if I can help it, Officers deserve better than that."

Jim liked her already, she was charming, smart, certainly not bad to look at and apparently she could cook. He couldn't help but wonder if Bones would let him ask her out. And she was right; their previous chef had been dreadful. If the man hadn't resigned, Jim would have asked to transfer him before long; there was only so much replicated meatloaf he could have tolerated much longer.

"Please Elizabeth, call me Jim. You are not technically a member of my crew, nor are you Starfleet, so there's no need to be so formal with me."

Elizabeth flashed him that stunning smile again before she turned towards Commander Spock. She then continued on to initiate the Vulcan salute, the traditional greeting for his people.

This too took Spock by surprise, though he didn't show it as he responded. Spock had spent the past few moments studying the younger of the two McCoys. Jim was correct when he had stated she was far more attractive than her brother, Spock found himself drawn to her, but he could not understand why. After lowering his hand he addressed the woman for the first time vocally, "Miss McCoy, as the Captain has already stated, it is indeed a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Smiling Elizabeth shook her head, "No please Commander Spock, the pleasure is, once again, all mine. And please I insist, call me Elizabeth or Lizzie, Miss McCoy is our 75 year old Great Aunt, isn't she Leo?" She let out an enchanting laugh, at what was clearly some private family joke. "So Gentlemen, if you all would be so kind as to take a seat, I will make sure your meals arrive in due course. You three are some of the last to dinner this evening. Just so you all know, tonight's theme for the menu is good old Southern cooking. But you knew that already didn't you Leo?"

Smiling again she turned and walked towards the galley door. As she walked away, Jim couldn't help but notice the way she swayed her hips as she walked, it was like she was moving to her own internal beat. Unfortunately for Jim it looked like he was staring at her ass, which he technically was, and he again received a prompt swat on the back of his head from Bones. Frowning, and rubbing the back of his, now sore head, Jim turned his frown towards his friend and was met with a glare from Bones, one that prompted Jim to refrain from complaining.

Making it over to the table Elizabeth had pointed out to them, the three men sat down. Jim looked expectantly at Bones for several minuets before speaking. "So when were you going to mention that you had a sister? I've know you for how long now, what is it? Six, seven years? And you've never mentioned her, not once."

"And you wonder why?" Bones scoffed. "Jim you meet a pretty girl and you're interested for a while, but as soon as you get what you want, you drop her. I saw it countless times back at the Academy and I will not have you do that to my baby sister. Hell, I'd rather see Spock pursue her than you. And anyway, no one in the family knew where she was for the past six years; she went out travelling and only checked in from time to time. Last I knew she was on Betazed. And as you know I've been a little busy looking after your sorry ass."

"Do you really think that little of me Bones?" The tone of Jim's voice was shocked and clearly slightly hurt at the comments just made to him.

"When it comes to the fairer sex? Yes. Just look at your track record Jim." Bones fixed his friend with a hard stare. "How many women have you loved and left? Scratch that, tell me the name of the last girl you slept with whilst we were still at the Academy, I'll bet you can't."

Jim frowned again, and thought. "Erm, she was from Orion…"

"Her name was Gaila Jim. I know that because I had to deal with her several times when you weren't there and she was looking for you. So, when it comes to my little sister Jim, unless she shows an interest in you first and by that I mean more than a passing glance, she is completely off limits to you. And if you value our friendship at all, you'll respect my wishes. I've seen her hurt too many times to blatantly let it happen again."

Jim sighed in defeat, knowing that what Bones was saying was right and, in all honesty, fair. He did have a bit of an extensive track record, he was known throughout his days at the academy as a bit of a maverick in the ways of love and romance. And Bones knew that better than anyone else.

Having watched the exchange between the Captain and the Doctor, Spock found himself fascinated. He had never noticed the protective side of Dr McCoy before; then again, the Doctor had never had a reason to be protective until now. Yet, when it was mentioned that McCoy would rather see Spock himself attempt to pursue Elizabeth, he felt an odd sense of elation. True, Elizabeth was by no means the ideal woman in a typical Vulcan sense. The logical Vulcan mate was tall with strong features, pristine in her appearance and possessed a soundly logical mind; essentially the polar opposite to what Elizabeth appeared to be. She was short, even for a human, her hair had an unruliness about it that suggested she had stopped attempting to tame it some time ago, and she was also extremely forthcoming with her emotions. All of these aspects should have, for lack of a better word, repulsed him. And yet Spock found himself intrigued by this woman.

Spock remained in a state of deep thought, that is until a bowl was placed in front of him. He glanced down at the bowl with interest; he found it curious that it appeared to be a form Plomeek broth.

"It's my own take on a Vulcan classic, Plomeek broth." Elizabeth stated from above him, she sounded nervous. "It's not as bland is it would be on Vulcan, but it's similar."

_'My assessment was correct.'_ Spock thought as he met the eyes of the woman, who quickly becoming a point of interest to him. She was an anomaly; one that required further study and analysis.

"May I inquire, Miss McCoy, as to where you learned how to make this particular dish? It is my understanding that it is exceptionally difficult to prepare." Spock asked, still maintaining eye contact.

"Mr Spock, please call me Elizabeth like I asked earlier. And I learned how to prepare and serve Vulcan cuisine, to an exceptionally high standard, if I may be so bold, when I spent a considerable amount of time on Vulcan working in the kitchens of T'sai T'Pau six years ago. Plus I had a feeling that you wouldn't agree with the theme for tonight's menu, as far as I'm aware all Vulcan's are vegetarian are they not?"

Spock confirmed her statement with a slight movement of his head. She turned to leave the table, but Spock prevented her in doing so by asking, "Please… Miss Elizabeth, inform me that you did not, in the colloquial terminology, go out of your way for my benefit." Although a small part of him was hoping that she had. For what reason he had hoped this, he knew not.

Elizabeth shook her head. "No Mr Spock, I myself became rather fond of Plomeek broth during my time on Vulcan, and I thought the few vegetarians aboard would like a change in cuisine. Being on board this ship with you here gives me an excuse to make Vulcan Cuisine, so for that I thank you. And from what I can tell from most of my new patrons, they are firmly in the omnivore category. So I'll get to practice my Vulcan cooking skills on you. Though perhaps I'll be able to convert a few Officers to the logical side, as it were." She winked at him. "Now if you three would be kind enough to excuse me, I have to go and rescue something from the oven and save my Galley from my new staff. Some of them are just as chaotic as their former boss." She flashed the table another smile before disappearing into the galley once more.

* * *

"Bones, I have to say, your sister is a miracle worker in the kitchen." Jim commented as he leaned back in his seat. "I haven't eaten that well for years." Glancing around the Mess, he noticed that they were the only people left in the room and shrugged it off, it had been a long day and most of the crew were tired.

"That Jim was McCoy food. Of course it's good; she was using our Grandma's recipes. If there is one constant in the universe for a McCoy, it's the skills our women have in the kitchen." Bones couldn't help but feel slightly smug. For him, this evening's meal had sent him straight home to Georgia, back to the family homestead. It was this type of cooking that he had grown up around, and since being in Starfleet had had missed the good old fashioned cooking style of his family. As far as his mother was concerned a replicator would never cross over the threshold into her house, and that was the attitude both he and Elizabeth had been raised on.

Spock silently agreed with what both Dr McCoy and Jim were saying, he had not enjoyed a meal so much for a very long time. For the majority of his meals aboard the Enterprise he had been forced to rely on the food replicators, as their previous Chef was not overly tolerant of certain dietary requirements. And Elizabeth was correct when she had stated that her adaption of the Vulcan classic dish was not a bland as tradition would have it made. However, oddly enough Spock found himself preferring the adaptation; there was something about it that made it more appealing to his palate.

"Yeah but Bones, that was the best apple pie I have ever had in my life. I mean what's in it? What gives it that extra kick? I can't put my finger on it." Jim questioned as he leaned over the table towards the doctor conspiratorially. "It wasn't the cinnamon, it was something else, but I defiantly got the cinnamon."

Smirking Bones simply shook his head. "Can't tell you Jim. Family secret. If I told you I'd have to put you in a permanent induced coma."

Throwing himself back in his chair Jim huffed, somewhat annoyed with his friend. He just wanted to know, it wasn't like he was going to steal the recipe and secretly bake the McCoy family pies for himself.

Bones smiled again as he saw that his sister was coming over to the table again. He was aware that he hadn't smiled this much in a long time; ah the effect family has upon the mind.

"Lizzie!" he exclaimed as she all but collapsed into the available chair at the table, after placing a tray with bottle of something and glasses in the centre.

"Lennie!" she replied mockingly. "God, I'm tuckered out." She moaned as she rested her head upon her crossed forearms.

Spock, forever a man of action, raised an eye brow at the statement.

"Hey Elizabeth, come on, tell me the secret of the apple pie, your brother won't bite." Jim pressed, ignoring the look he was receiving from Bones.

"Can't do that. And Leo couldn't tell you anyway. Knowing the secrets of the McCoy kitchen is something that comes with the privilege of having two X chromosomes. When it comes to the kitchen, Leo can't tell his ass from his elbow; and that's something he should know being a doctor and all." She announced turning to her older brother and sticking out her tongue. "However, in order to end the night on a good note. Moonshine anyone?" She asked as she sat up and gestured towards the non-descript bottle from the trey.

Jim's eyes went wide. He liked to think of himself as a man who could hold his liquor, and in addition to that there were very few alcoholic beverages he had yet to try. But Moonshine was one of them. Meanwhile, Bones was laughing along with his little sister.

"Where did you manage to get Moonshine Liz?" Bones asked, reaching for the bottle from his sister.

"I didn't get it anywhere. I made it." She stated matter-o-fact.

"You... you made it?" Jim questioned in a disbelieving tone.

Elizabeth nodded the affirmative. "Sure, when your grandpa is Andrew McCoy you pick up a few things." She pulled a PADD out from her back pocket and began going through her notes. It was obvious to the three men around her that she was planning upcoming meals, she occasionally murmured to herself informing them inadvertently that a Scottish themed dinner would be produced at some point.

* * *

As the night grew later, Jim and Bones became steadily drunk on the Moonshine Elizabeth had produced. Spock noticed that she herself did not consume any alcohol, which he found somewhat unusual as she had been the one to produce it. It was clear to the Vulcan that Elizabeth was tired. She became paler as time progressed and her breathing rate decreased as she fought to stay awake and finish her work.

Despite his drunken state, Bones also noticed the changes in his sister.

"You know, I've always told you Lizzie, you play the part of the hostess to well. And then you always forget to look after yourself." Bones told his little sister, slurring slightly as he reached over and brushed the hair that was stuck to her forehead behind her ear. "When was the last time you ate? You're as white as a sheet."

"Don't mother me Leonard." Elizabeth snapped all of a sudden pushing his hand away from her.

At first Bones was startled by how Elizabeth reacted to his question, then in his usual fashion he retaliated. And due to his mildly drunken state, he was a little more aggressive than he would have liked. "I'll mother you all I damn well like, and as the ships CMO, I order you to eat something now."

This was the Bones the Jim knew, not the soppy fluffy thing he had just shared just an evening with. He and Spock just sat back and watched the two siblings go at each other; it was obvious that they were related simply by the way they reacted to one and other. And Jim couldn't help but notice how much more Southern they both sounded when they were angry, their drawls became much more pronounced.

Elizabeth's eyes were blazing, "I'm not a member of Starfleet. You can't order me to do anything."

"Fine! As your brother, I'm telling you to eat something. So do it before I make you!"

Bones was now on his feet, with his hands pressed on the surface of the table, it was impressive how quickly he had sobered up. Spock looked between the two siblings with curiosity; he had never seen two human family members interact in such an aggressive way before. Jim on the other hand just sat back and enjoyed the show, not to say that he enjoyed confrontation; but when two people are arguing like this it's somewhat entertaining. On the plus side, Jim was glad that the animosity wasn't directed towards himself for once.

Elizabeth scoffed, also rising to her feet. Spock could see the similarities between both McCoy siblings as they were glaring across the table at each other, they were striking. Their similar bone structures became apparent with the change in the way the light hit their faces, and the way in which they gestured with their hands was very similar; it was all rather fascinating.

"I'd like to see you try." She snarled.

"Damn it Liz, I'm you brother! I care about your well being."

"Like hell you do, where the hell have you been for the past six years? Where were you when I needed you?" Elizabeth was on the verge of tears at this point.

"You knew where I was. I was with Starfleet. We didn't have a clue where you were. Hell, I didn't even know you have ever been to Vulcan before today. I was there Lizzie; I would have been there if you called me!" Bones's voice cracked slightly, and he immediately attempted to regain his composure before he continued. "So don't you dare say I wasn't there for you, I could only be there if you had wanted me."

The tears that had been building up in Elizabeth's eyes had made tracks down her cheeks. She broke the eye contact she had held with her brother throughout their little outburst. She knew he was right, he would have been there for her in her time of need, she was the one who didn't call him. Hell she didn't even go to her own parents, at least she hadn't right away, her shame prevented her in doing so.

Spock could tell from his previous analysis of humans that there was something the Elizabeth was hiding from her brother. Something that caused her a great amount of pain. The emotion seemed to roll off of her in great waves.

The tension in the room was so thick; it was ready to snap at any moment. In fact, so high was the tension that not one of the occupants of the room noticed when the door to the room hissed open.

However, when a small voice called out, "Momma, I had a bad dream." The tension in the room diffused instantly.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi guys :). I'm so glad that this is having such a good response. I can't tell you how much I loved the other version of this, but other things got in the way and I've struggled to get back into it. So I thought I'd start again. I do have a question for you guys at the end of this chapter, I had an idea and the plot bunnies started breading so yeah, but more on that later…

Acknowledgements:

**Ravenclaw Slytherin**: The first time I wrote that chapter ending I was so damn proud of myself. It was kind of like "Yeah, I'm throwing a major curveball, bet none of you expected that one!" Still, thank you for the support, and please give me your opinion on the suggestion I'm making later :P

**Cherylnixon**: I hope you continue to like the new version. I have plans for this story. Big, BIG plans.

**Hannahhobnob**: I think this new version is going to be bigger and better, at least it is in my mind. Think of it as a version 2.0 if you will.

**Mythwriter**: I was kind of bummed out when I stopped writing and updating myself, but I just couldn't get it to move along sadly. But things are going again thankfully.

**Macyburgess**: Can I just ask what prompted the question? I'm curious, indulge me… and awesome I'm glad you're here!

**SmillyReaper**: Not to sound big headed, but yes it is isn't it! :D

* * *

All eyes had shifted to the small figure in the door way. A small child, stood there dried tears still visible on his cheeks, as he clutched a stuffed animal of some kind tightly to his chest. His eyes were wide with terror as he gazed towards Elizabeth; clearly she was his 'Momma'. Yet, even without him addressing her as such, the resemblance between the two would have given it away. He had the same unruly hair that hung raggedly around his face as hers did, only it was coloured several shades darker, and his eyes, they were exactly like hers except they were filled with fear and apprehension.

"Oh Caleb, baby, come here." Elizabeth cooed to the small child as she crouched down at his level and opened her arms to him. It was hard to believe that just seconds before she had been about to tear the head off of her elder brother, who was himself staring at the child with disbelief. The change in her mood was enough to give a person whiplash.

The little boy scurried across the room, tripping occasionally on his oversized pyjama bottoms, straight into his mother's arms and clutching to her as though his young life depended on it. She quickly scooped him up and sat him on her hip. Cradling his head to her shoulder, she started murmuring to him quietly with her eyes closed, so no one but her son could hear her, whilst swaying him back and forth.

However, Spock with his advanced Vulcan sense of hearing could hear every word that passed her lips.

"You wanna tell me what the dream was about?" Elizabeth asked.

The child shook his head, and buried his head further into her neck, his hand bunching her flowing shirt in a fist.

"How 'bout we go into Momma's galley and fix you a hot chocolate? Yea? How does that sound? Then you can tell me about the dream, 'cause you know that's how to stop the bad dreams, isn't it? We talk about it, and it takes the power away, so they aren't scary anymore."

The little boy nodded his head as he sniffed slightly, and hung onto Elizabeth tighter even though that seemed almost impossible.

It was clear to Spock that this was a regular occurrence between mother and son and that their bond with each other was strong. It was at that moment, seeing Elizabeth with her son, that Spock was reminded of his own childhood on Vulcan with his own mother. Before he had learned the way of the Vulcan people, he had often held onto his own mother in a similar fashion. A strange feeling formed in the centre of Spock's chest, a longing to be held again, to experience the level of love that was clearly shared between Elizabeth and her young child. In essence, Spock was longing for his own mother, even though he knew it was illogical to do so. His own mother was gone, that fact alone secretly bothered him above all other matters, but there was nothing that could be done. The attempt to save his mother's life had been extinguished the moment the rock face had given out below her feet, and despite the best efforts of Ensign Chekov he would never see his own mother again.

During the murmured exchange between Elizabeth and the child that was apparently his nephew, Leonard McCoy stood rigidly, his mouth slightly agape. All manner of thoughts were running through his head at the time. But what he really wanted to know is when the hell that little boy came into the universe, and where his father was. When he found out who this kid's father was, Bones would personally do anything he could to remove the bastard from existence for defiling his sister. His sister was un-married. The lack of a ring on her finger proved that much, and as far as he knew she had never been married, so why was she a single mother? Yet then again, he didn't even know he had a nephew until now, many questions had to be answered. But judging on the size and stature of him, he was the reason that Bones hadn't seen his sister for the past six years. She had been hiding her son from him, her own brother.

Jim couldn't help but think that what was transpiring was better than anything he had ever seen on the old soap operas that his mom had favoured when he was growing up. All he needed now was them to start yelling at each other in Spanish and the scene would be complete.

Elizabeth turned to face her older brother scowling. "Leonard, close your mouth, you'll catch flies." It wasn't quite a snap, it was far too quiet for that, but it wasn't far off.

She shifted her son to sit in the seat she had previously vacated. He seemed to be swamped by the size of it as he curled in on himself, his stuffed toy poking out from between his arms, as his mother crouched down again in front of him. "Caleb, you see that man there?" She asked in a voice just above a whisper as she pointed to her bother.

Caleb nodded, peering up at the Doctor from beneath dark eye lashes.

"That's your Uncle Leo. He's my big brother. I'm gonna go and make you that hot chocolate okay? And Uncle Leo's gonna come with me, 'cause we have grown up things to talk about. I'm only gonna be gone for a few minutes, and I'll only be right through those doors, so you know you're safe now right?" She spoke slowly, allowing her son to take in the words.

Again Caleb simply nodded in response.

"So I'm gonna leave you here with Captain Kirk and Commander Spock, and they're gonna watch you for me. You remember that story I told you about Captain Kirk? The one where he stopped the bad guys from blowing the Earth up?"

This time Caleb managed a tiny mumbled response, "Yeah."

"So you know he can protect you, just like the protected the planet Earth?"

He nodded again, gazing up at the Captain. As his mother rose to her full height.

"Ok, I won't be long. Be a good boy for the Captain and the Commander now."

Before she turned away, she leaned down to press a kiss upon her son's forehead. And, in an action similar to the one her brother had done to her moments before their altercation had started, she brushed some of his hair out of his face and behind his ear. His pointed ear. It was clear to all in the room, that whilst Caleb was Elizabeth's son, he was not completely human.

Bones's eyes were now slightly budging out of his head, as his sister lead him from the room by his hand like a small child. She was speaking to him in the process, but he didn't catch a word of it. His head was far too busy attempting to process what he had just seen. It was no secret that he wasn't exactly the Vulcan race's number one fan, and now his nephew was one of them. What new twisted hell was this? He was lost to the universe. Well he was, until he felt a sharp sting across his cheek as Elizabeth slapped him. That soon brought him to his senses.

"What the hell did you do that for?" McCoy gasped as he glared as his sister, his hand pressed to the side of his face.

"You weren't listening to a word I was saying." She replied as she busied herself preparing the promised hot chocolate for her son.

"Well, I'm so sorry. You just dropped a bomb shell on me, and now you expect me not to be slightly phased by it at all?" Bones argued back, his hand now rubbing his stinging cheek. "And gees, what d'you wash your hands with? Sandpaper? They rougher than tanned leather."

"Stop being a baby." Elizabeth muttered. "Why do you always exaggerate?"

"Yes, speaking of babies. Where the hell is the father of yours hm? Better yet, why aren't you married to him? He was good enough for you to open your legs for; he clearly liked you enough to sleep with you, so why didn't he put a ring on your hand?"

Elizabeth stiffened, her shoulders drew themselves together slightly as she grasped the counter for support. "Caleb doesn't have a father, never did. His genetic donor however, he's dead. He was on Vulcan when it imploded. So I'm sorry we never got round to setting a date for the big day, but the invitations were picked out and you would have loved the china patterns." She sarcastically argued back without pausing.

"Oh well that's just great. My baby sister decides to get herself knocked up by a member of the coldest most unfeeling species in the universe, and then neglects to tell me for what, four, five years?" Leonard ranted at his sister.

By this point Elizabeth looked as though she was on the verge of tears. Angry tears, but tears none the less. That last series of comments had re-ignited the fire in her that had been present less than five minuets ago. "And what makes you think I chose this?" She asked in a deadly quiet voice.

Still in rant mode, Bones responded quickly. "Oh I don't know, the at least four year old Vulcan-Human hybrid that out there being baby sat by the only other Vulcan-Human hybrid in existence and James Kirk, of all people. Proof's in the pudding Sweetheart."

A bitterly cynical laugh escaped Elizabeth's lips as she turned to her brother, brandishing a wooden spoon in his general direction. "Caleb is MY son, he doesn't need a father, and we manage just fine. I love him unconditionally as any mother should love her child, I had the choice to keep him, love him, and raise him. I didn't, however, have any choice in his conception. So you just remember that before you accuse me of 'spreading my legs' and 'choosing to get knocked up'."

That stopped Bones in his tracks. He wasn't sure if he had heard that right. "You... you were raped?" He asked in a quiet and unsure voice.

"Oh give the man a gold star, he figured it out." Elizabeth resumed making the hot chocolate for Caleb refusing to look at her brother, as the milk she had been warming stared to raise slightly in the pan. "I was raised with the same old fashioned values as you were you jackass. Before everything went to shit, I had every intention of waiting until I got married before I had kids. But I wouldn't give Caleb up for anything, he's my rock. My one beautiful thing in the whole god damn Universe. So don't you dare tarnish that fact with your xenophobic misconceptions."

"Lizzie, I…I'm so sorry." He whispered as he pulled her into a hug, this was the first time since he had found out that his wife was cheating on him that he had been on the verge of crying. He had always been protective of his baby sister, knowing that something so horrible had happened to her killed him inside.

"Ya'll should be, I'm no whore." She whispered

"I deserved that. I just wish you had gone to someone, me or mom or even grandpa, just someone."

She choked back a sob, and managed to laugh slightly. "I know Leo; I should be the one apologising to you. I had every intention on telling you, but I didn't want to burden you with my problems as well. You were just getting over the divorce last time we talked properly, you seemed to be happy, and I couldn't be the one to destroy you like that."

"That's crap, and you know it." Bones mumbled to Elizabeth, still holding her close to him and resting his cheek on top of her head as they swayed gently from side to side. "I would have been on the next shuttle to be there for you. Ready to fight for you and kill the bastard who did this to you." The McCoy siblings shared a silent and still moment, just holding each other, composing themselves. But Bones ruined the moment by suddenly shoving her away from him and holding her at arm's length, a disbelieving look on his face. "Do you mean you haven't told mom she's a Grandma yet? God she's gonna kill you."

Relaxing slightly once more, a small smile graced Elizabeth's lips. "Mom knows and so does Pop; they were there when I had him. We just didn't tell you. Mom didn't think it would be a good idea with everything that was going on; I just happened to agree. They're not thrilled about the situation, but they're coping better than I was."

She turned back to what she had been doing, her back to her brother. Leaning back against the countertop, Bones couldn't help but feel slightly betrayed by his own family. They seemed to have come to the unanimous decision that he was too delicate to be informed of his sister's condition and the manner in which she got that way. True he'd had a bit of a breakdown after the divorce, but that was understandable. He was a doctor not a flower, he would make sure they knew that in near future. His next message home was going to be interesting to say the least.

Before sweeping out of the room, Elizabeth paused, and over her shoulder announced, "Anyway, it's all in the past, there's nothing I can do. So I choose to keep calm and carry on. Now, my son needs me."

There was more to this story, Bones knew it. His sister wasn't telling him everything; he had always been able to tell when she was lying, just as she could tell when he was. Apparently, since they had been separated, she had gotten better at deception, but she still gave it away slightly. It was all in her eyes, the pain she was living with; her eyes had always been the portals into her soul. Sighing to himself Bones pushed away from the countertop he had been leaning on.

It was as he was moving to follow her, that Bones noticed that there were three more steaming mugs on the counter top. How had he not noticed her make more? Sighing once more he collected the three mugs and re-entered the Officer's Mess.

* * *

James Kirk was confused. Over the course of the past few hours, he seemed to remain in a semi-constant state of confusion intermixed with sensations of understanding. But the confusion was something he was not generally accustomed to. It was no secret that he was a genius, at least generally speaking; his aptitude tests alone showed that. But the constant emerging of new facts were altering his perception of the immediate situation, leaving him little to no time to adapt. The Enterprise had yet to leave Jupiter Station's space dock, and he could already tell this next exploratory mission was going to be one of the most eventful missions to date. At least it was regarding the interpersonal relations on board, who knew what they were going to find once they got out there.

As to what he was supposed to do with the kid in front of him, Jim was at a loss for words. He had known that another child would be on board the ship for the duration of the mission, he had had to give his consent to allow the boy on board, and what was another child to such a large ship? Several crew members had their kids with them, it wasn't always ideal but Starfleet wasn't overly insistent that children be separated from their parents when they were off world. But in this case he hadn't known who the child was supposed to be, or who his mother was, it didn't matter at the time he just signed off on it. He had simply assumed it was the child of a married crew member. This being the believed case, Jim hadn't thought he would hardly ever set eyes upon the child, he didn't see the others. He really wasn't expecting to be asked to watch him for any amount of time. Talk about his actions coming back to bite him on the ass.

Casting a wary sideways glance at the child, Caleb, Jim found himself slightly transfixed. It was clear that Caleb was part Vulcan; well it was now that Jim could see the tips of the boy's ears. It had never occurred to Jim that the way in which Spock wore his hair, was a choice made by the Commander. Having seen so many Vulcan males, and females for that matter, with the exact same haircut, it was easy to forget that it must be a choice as opposed to a biological trait of the species. Yet there wasn't much that seemed familiar to the Vulcan race in Caleb, with his hair falling over his ears he looked very much a human.

Turning his attention to his First Officer, Jim noticed Spock's eyes were closed and he was in a state of deep concentration. Jim found himself smirking at the Vulcan. It was obvious that he found Elizabeth interesting; he had barely taken his eyes off of her when she had been in the room this evening. But it amused him to no end, that the normally logical man he had come to know and value as a friend, would stoop so low as to listening in on a conversation to quench the thirst of his curiosity.

"You know Spock, where the McCoy's come from; they tend to shoot first and ask questions later." He quipped hoping to get Spock's attention.

Spock's eyes snapped open at the Captain's seemingly offhand comment. "Excuse me Captain; I do not understand the point you are attempting to make."

"You will Spock. Eventually, you will."

Again, Spock raised his eyebrow in a questioning manor, but said nothing in response. Jim was being vague on purpose; he could have a lot of fun with this.

Turning his attention back to Caleb, Jim found that the little boy was staring intently at him from beneath his thick eyelashes. It was as though he was trying to read Jim's mind, to see such a young child doing this was slightly un-nerving. He had obviously calmed down enough to no longer seem so shy.

"So, erm Caleb. Who's this?" Jim asked smiling softly as he slightly shook the paw of the stuffed animal that was still clutched tightly to his chest. From what Jim could make of the creature, it appeared to be dog, either that or a really odd teddy bear.

Caleb looked down at his toy, quickly averting his eyes from Jim with a green tinted blush rising to his cheeks, before answering in a soft voice. "His name is Cujo. He's my favourite. Momma got him for me when I was a baby."

Jim paused at the name. His mind was racing; the name Cujo struck a chord for some reason. And then it hit. Cujo was the name of a King novel from the 20th century, a novel about a dangerous dog, a very dangerous dog at that. It seemed doubtful that Caleb had named the toy that himself, he probably didn't even know the significance of the name; so it must have been Elizabeth. It was apparent that Elizabeth and her brother shared a sense of humour, which was a useful thing to know. Jim wouldn't put it past Bones to buy a kid a toy clown and call it Pennywise for kicks.

'_Sarcasm must run in the family_' was the thought that ran through Jim's mind as he smiled and asked Caleb is he could see Cujo. After a slight hesitation Caleb handed the dog over to the Captain, who proceeded to animate Cujo, making him yip and pretend to lick Caleb's face. This made the little boy laugh slightly and went to grab for his toy back. Jim promptly relinquished his hold on Cujo to Caleb.

"What do you and Cujo like to do for fun?" Jim asked after clearing his throat.

Caleb's head tilted slightly to the side, and action that Jim commonly associated with his First Officer. "I like to read stories." He answered swiftly.

"What kind of stories?"

"I like the ones with pirates and dragons." Caleb sat up a little straighter now.

"Pirates and dragons? In the same story, wow that sounds cool."

Caleb giggled and hid behind Cujo. "No not in the same stories, they're in different stories."

That was a sight Jim that he would never see, a Vulcan giggling. His mind wandering, he found himself wondering what it would take to get Spock to giggle like that. He also wondered how long it would take for Spock to murder him in cold blood for trying.

"Oh, ok then. I guess that makes more sense." Jim pretended to be a little disappointed by this information. "So do you read these stories all by yourself?"

"Yeah sometimes, but its better when Momma tells the stories. She does the characters in different voices. And sometimes she doesn't even use a book, she can make them up!" Caleb answered; he seemed to be starting to relax a lot more.

Jim smiled softly at the idea of the woman he had only just met reading to her son. "Does she now? Well I might just have to come by sometime and listen to a story with you, maybe she could tell one about a pirate dragon. Would your mom be ok with that d'you think?"

Caleb's eyes seemed to light up as he nodded vigorously as the suggestion. "Yeah! But my favourite story is the one about that time when you saved Earth. Momma says that it really happened and isn't made up like the other stories she tells me, and that you saved my life and Momma's that day."

The shit-eating grin that formed on Jim's face could not be helped; he had just been given a huge ego boost from a child. Not that his ego needed to get any bigger. Yet Jim found himself wondering how old Caleb was, he couldn't be far of being five or six, but with the boy having part alien DNA, it could be hard to tell. Especially if it was Vulcan DNA, they lived far longer than humans do, and stayed deceptively youthful.

"That's a story I would like to hear Caleb." Jim leaned over to ruffle Caleb's unruly hair, causing the boy to giggle again in the process.

All the while Spock had been watching the interaction between the Captain and the child with equal interest. He had not had much interaction with children since his own youth, a time he did not remember fondly. He recalled his life being very different to that led by the young boy in front of him. It was strange for Spock to see this child, who like himself, was one of two worlds, being so different from other Vulcan children; being so different from himself at that age. Caleb was so carefree. It seemed he was unaware of Vulcan culture and the need to repress emotion. This was an issue Spock would attempt to discuss with the child's mother. For some reason, the idea of discussing the issue with Elizabeth, when she was not in the company of her brother stirred peculiar feeling within Spock's chest. He liked the idea of getting to speak to her alone.

If Jim hadn't being paying such close attention to the youngest McCoy, he would have noticed the ghost of a smile that spread across the face of his First Officer.

It was at that point that Elizabeth re-emerged from behind the swinging galley door, two mugs in hand, she made a bee-line for her son, whom she was pleased to see had perked up a considerable amount during her absence. Placing the mugs down, she lifted her son, before re-taking her former seat and placing him in her lap.

Caleb was settled snuggling into his mother's side in an instant, and was half way through the hot chocolate his mother had brought him, when his uncle came back carrying the other three mugs intended for the other men in the room.

Caleb excitedly relayed what he and the Captain had spoken about when she was gone. She listened and laughed along with her child and the Captain. She seemed so at ease, holding her son close to her. It was clear to anyone that she loved him, and that he loved her just as much. Spock couldn't help but notice that despite the fact that the child was partly Vulcan, he failed to display any of the traits that were common place amongst their race. Other than aesthetically, this child was no more Vulcan than Captain Kirk or Dr McCoy.

There were other things that Spock found himself wondering. For example, why the child was not becoming inebriated. Chocolate, regardless of what kind, had the same adverse effects on Vulcans that alcohol has on humans. Furthermore, who had dared to lay a finger on this woman whilst she was on Vulcan, in the house of T'sai T'Pau no less? He had overheard everything that had transpired between the McCoy siblings in the galley. Granted not without some effort on his part. It bothered him more than he was willing to admit that a member of his own race would commit such a heinous crime. There had not been a case of rape reported on Vulcan for centuries, not since they had purged all emotion.

Regardless, he would not divulge this information, not just yet, that would be illogical. He would attempt to gain her trust, learn more about what had happened to her. He would provide aid to her by teaching her son about his Vulcan heritage. After all, it was necessary to learn about where one comes from, it would be logical for Elizabeth to have him teach the boy; perform the role that Caleb's father would have had the facts surrounding his conception been different.

Bones found himself watching his newly discovered nephew. There had been a fear in the back of his mind, a never ending mantra constantly calling into question of how human the child was. Spock, after all, was also half human and look at him. Bones couldn't stand the thought of anyone related to him being anything remotely like Spock. It was true that he was far more tolerant of the Vulcan First Officer now than he had been in the past, hell if he were to go out on a limb, he would even go as far to as to say he was slightly fond of him. Ever since the green blooded hobgoblin had pulled his head outa his ass, he had been more bearable. But Spock was still too formal, too wooden, too… logical. The McCoy family weren't a carefree bunch to say the least, but there was an easiness to them that all of the Vulcans he had come into contact with lacked.

Plus, for the first time in his life, Jim was proving to be somewhat of a positive influence in the case of Spock. But the horror of ever being addressed by his nephew in that monotonous way Spock often did made the skin on the back of his neck crawl. Yet, as he observed Caleb, he noticed that the likelihood of this ever coming to pass was extremely unlikely. Caleb was clearly his mother's son, and a happy little boy at that. Before long, Bones found himself laughing along with the Captain and his newly re-united family.

"So Caleb, you never told me how Cujo got his name." Jim addressed the little boy. "Did you name him yourself?"

Bones looked at his little sister disbelievingly, but didn't get a chance to say anything before Caleb answered the Captain whilst fiddling with the stuffed dog.

"No, Momma said that was the name he came with when she got him for me."

"Did she now?" Bones asked, continuing the cursory look he had held on Elizabeth. Who had the decency to look bashful. "It's an interesting name; I wonder how she came up with it."

She didn't say anything and just smiled, Leonard knew exactly where it had come from, it was all his fault really. Her own sense of humour had developed from his. For the first time that day she felt truly relaxed. Although earlier on in the evening she had been pretending to be at ease, it was all an act, now the Leonard knew what had happened, she could relax properly. She had been on edge ever since she had come on board. She had known that her brother was the CMO on the ship, that fact had terrified her more than it should have. Just because she was now a fully grown and independent woman doesn't mean she had stopped looking from approval from her big brother. But the urge to be given a chance to travel around and cook for some of the most distinguished officers in Starfleet, all the while being able to take her kitchen and son with her was an offer she hadn't been able to refuse. On the side of that the tiny hope had been present in the back of her mind that Leonard would want to re-connect; this hope was quickly becoming a reality.

Elizabeth could feel Caleb begin to fall asleep in her arms. "Come on little man, it's time you go back to bed. It's been a long day for both of us." She murmured quietly in his ear, but couldn't resist the urge to smile when he shook his head fervently.

"No Momma, I'm not tired." He insisted, all the while he was fighting to keep his eyes open.

"Yes you are. Come on; let's see how long it'll take Momma to find our quarters again." She said more to herself than anyone else as she rose to her feet and shifted Caleb back onto her hip.

It was her movement that Spock's attention, he had seen it out of the corner of his eye. It was clear that the boy was on the verge of sleep and she was about to depart to take him to bed. Without even pausing to think, Spock stood.

"Elizabeth, I would gladly offer my services and escort you back to your quarters. It would be illogical to allow you to wander around rather than take a direct route there."

Jim, who had been taking a drink from what was honestly the best hot chocolate he had ever tasted, choked and coughed what was in his mouth back into the mug, his eyebrows flying up to meet his hair line upon hearing Spock's offer. Wiping his mouth on his sleeve, he continued to splutter, his interest focused back upon Spock.

Elizabeth herself was surprised by Spock's offer; he had been silent throughout the past conversation, not even speaking to add his two cents at any point. She hadn't pegged him as someone who would willingly place himself out of his own way. She had spent plenty of time in the presence of Vulcans; they seldom seemed to want to go out of their way for anything or anyone.

Part of her resented the fact that a man deemed it acceptable to offer help to her when she was a single parent who had managed on her own so far. But a bigger, more rational, part of her was deeply touched by the Vulcan's offer, and so she accepted. She stepped to the side and allowed Spock to lead her out of the Officers mess, leaving her bother and the Captain behind in a stunned silence.

A few moments passed before Bones managed to speak.

"Jim?"

"Yes Bones?" The tone of Jim's voice implied that he was just as stunned.

"What the hell just happened?"

* * *

**HIGHLY IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!**

So this plot bunny that's plaguing me…

I'm thinking of adding a new angle to this story in the form of a love triangle. This idea was spawned by a review I got regarding the first version of this little narrative from AmethystSiri saying that [she] _Would love to see Daddy!Jim :))))_.

So what do you guys think about the idea of adding a love triangle between Spock, Elizabeth and Jim? I'd love to hear your opinion on this matter, it may decide on future plot lines :).


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok so after the little question I posed to you guys, I still have some thinking to do and I love the responses you've given me as mixed as they are. Just to confirm something though, this will remain a story surrounding Spock and Elizabeth. Anything with Jim, _if_ it happens, will be brief. Still thank you for the support this story is receiving, you guys are awesome!**

**Acknowledgements**

**Zoev** – I wasn't aware of the differences in the spelling of Captain, so thank you for pointing that out. I've since fixed the issue. My computer is set to accept both the English and the French spellings of words, and sometimes I don't notice when I slip between the two. I'm also not sure completely where this story is going, but I know I want to tone down the angst.

**Ravenclaw Slythein** – I've toyed with non-requited romance involving Jim in this, so who knows it might happen ;)

**Hannahhobnob** – I've always seen Jim as a sort of natural father figure. And with the new films I see him as having something to prove and want to show that he can be a good influence. We all know that he didn't really have a father figure growing up, and from what the film suggests his stepfather wasn't up to much. So I might end up using this as an excuse to see what happens with Jim.

**dark1988** – As much as you're enthusiasm made me smile (grin like a madwoman more like), and as much as I wish Elizabeth could have them both, I don't think I could do that. I play around enough with the cannon as it is, that may be a step too far.

**Mythwriter** – You may have something there… I can work with that. But we'll see. It's amazing to know that I have such support out there :D.

**And to the rest of you**, thank you again for your answers and responses. I hope I can make you all happy to some extent, though I know that's impossible to some extent. I have some planning to do apparently.

* * *

Although he was acting calm, Bones was anything but. He had no idea what had just happened. His baby sister had just left with the hobgoblin. He was going to 'show her to her quarters', what the hell did that mean? As they say, chivalry was dead, it had been for centuries. Sure Spock was being Spock, but this just didn't make sense. "Seriously Jim, what was that?"

"Well as far as I'm aware, and tell me if I'm wrong here, but your newly discovered nephew was falling asleep. And given that it is clearly way past his bed time, your sister decided to take him back to their quarters and not knowing the way Spock…"

"Stop being an ass!" Bones snapped glaring across the table. Jim was trying to piss him off, and it was actually working. "I mean what was that with Spock? He barely said a word all night and now he's walking her home? He doesn't go out of his way for anything; he's not acting well… logical."

Bones had his elbows on the table and was holding his head up. His eyes were wide with disbelief and now looking slightly hollow for having quoting Spock's logic. It looked as though he were having a mental break down, either that or a stroke.

"He might have just been acting as First Officer. You know doing his job, looking after the crew and what not." Jim suggested knowing full well that it was a bullshit suggestion.

"And since when did he escort anyone personally to their quarters in the past Jim? We get new crew members at least once every six months; he's never done this before." Bones ranted. "He doesn't care beyond personnel reports."

For the umpteenth time that night, a shit eating grin made its way on to Jim's face as he confirmed Bones's fear. "Well there's always the off chance that he likes her."

Jim tried to sound as off handed as he could. He tried to make it sound like they were still in high school and it was nothing more than that. This of course was not the case, and Jim wanted to rub as much salt in the wound as possible. He wasn't being overly cruel, and he had to get his kicks somewhere.

"I don't care, he can cut it out. I'm not having that... that... Vulcan attempt to go after my baby sister. It's not going to happen, not over my dead body." Bones ranted to his best friend, who immediately burst out into side splitting laughter. "And what the hell is so damn funny?"

Wiping a tear from his eye, Jim managed to compose himself. "You've already given him permission to go after her if he wants."

"I have not!" Bones was yelling again. "I would never do that!"

A chuckle escaped before Jim could stop it. "Yes you would, you have, and I quote _'Hell, I'd rather see Spock pursue her than you'_. Without even realising it, you did, without a doubt, give our dear Spock permission to pursue your little sister, and there nothing you can do about it. I'm not so much of a bad choice now am I? I think the term 'shot yourself in the foot' can be applied here Bones."

A look of absolute horror crossed Bones's face. Jim was right. He knew something like this was gonna turn 'round and bite him in the ass. Letting himself fall forwards, McCoy's face came into contact with the table with an audible thump.

"Well fuck me."

"I'd rather not, you're not my type. And hey look on the bright side, he could've taken it one further and offered to carry Caleb. You know what he's like about touching."

"I really hate you sometimes."

Laughing, still, Jim rose to his feet. "I'm gonna turn in too, and I wanna see how far this thing with Spocky boy goes. 'Night Bones, and quit worrying it might never happen." And with that Jim clapped Bones on the shoulder and swaggered out of the mess.

Bones was left there to stew in his misery. His self inflicted misery.

* * *

***In the Hall way***

"Thank you Commander Spock."

Spock glanced at the woman walking beside him. She seemed so relaxed, even despite the fact she was carrying her half-conscious child, it was as though the additional weight didn't affect her. Raising his eyebrow in her general direction he questioned, "For what reason are you thanking me, Miss McCoy."

"As I've already insisted, please, call me Elizabeth. And I want to thank you for taking the time to show me where our quarters are. This is an exceptionally large ship, and until I get my bearings I'll constantly be getting lost."

"If that is the case, Elizabeth, then I also must insist upon you addressing me as just Spock. And it is my pleasure to show you where your quarters are. As First Officer it is my duty to make sure that everyone on board, crew or not, are sufficiently cared for."

If Elizabeth didn't know better, she would have thought that Spock was flirting with her; but Vulcan's didn't flirt. Did they? She was beginning to doubt herself however, she had been on plenty of Starships in her time, and never has the First Officer taken the time to speak to her, yet alone personally escort her to her quarters. But then again, on all the other ships she'd been on, her brother and the First Officer hadn't been friends either. Perhaps that had something to do with it.

"Okay then Spock. I have a question for you."

"Proceed Elizabeth."

Attempting to hide a small smile, she put on a serious face. "Why didn't you drink the hot chocolate I made? You where the only one who didn't try it."

"My experience with the substance known as chocolate has been less than positive in the past." Spock's face appeared to be void of emotion, but Elizabeth could have sworn she saw a flicker of a grimace in his eyes.

Elizabeth had a feeling that would be his answer, she continued to play along. "Ah, you mean the fact that chocolate to Vulcan's has a similar effect to that of alcohol with humans?"

"You are correct."

"Then explain this to me Spock. Why in a month of Sundays would I give my son, who as I'm sure you've noticed, is part Vulcan, a substance that would have a damning effect upon his body and mind?"

She had meant to throw Spock's sense of reasoning out of the window. He paused; he didn't know how to respond to that statement. Taking his silence as confirmation that she had well and truly pulled the rug out from under his feet, she continued.

"The mixture I give to Caleb has been designed by myself to have the same taste and texture of hot chocolate, but it does not contain any form of cocoa bean. I would not purposefully make my four year old son drunk. I can assure you of that. And just because Caleb has Vulcan genes shouldn't make him miss out on certain things."

She was smiling at him again. Spock found himself curious as to how she could smile so much with ease, she never seemed to stop unless she was having a heated argument.

"So, next time I make hot chocolate, I expect you to drink it Mr Spock. Even Vulcans should be able to experience the wonder that is chocolate without the fear of losing that control you all hold so dear."

"That would be agreeable." He responded coming to a halt outside of her and Caleb's quarters. "This is where I will take my leave. Goodnight Miss Elizabeth, sleep well."

Spock turned on his heels and returned up the corridor from the direction they had come. Elizabeth stared at the departing Vulcan's back as he walked away from her.

Before she could stop herself she called out, "Goodnight Mr Spock."

The Vulcan paused and turned his head to her over his shoulder in acknowledgement before resuming his way down the corridor. Elizabeth couldn't be sure, but she could have sworn that she saw a small smile grace Spock's face before he took a turn down another passageway. Smiling to herself as she passed through the doors into her quarters, she had a strong feeling that she was going to enjoy her time here on the Enterprise.

* * *

The next day when Jim walked into the Officers mess he was once again greeted by the pleasant smell of food. He could really get used to this, great smelling food, meant great tasting food; well it did in his mind. Sighing happily he went to cross the room to his table from the night before, seeing Bones already there eating, with a happy Caleb seated beside him with an old fashioned colouring book.

"'Mornin' Captain." Scotty popped out of nowhere, surprising and halting Jim's progress across the room.

"God, Scotty. Where the hell did you come from? I thought you didn't normally eat breakfast." Jim was clutching his chest above his heart, which felt as though it was trying to pound its way out through his rib cage.

"Ah, you see I didn't wit' our old Chef. Bloody heath maniac. Fruit for breakfast every day? Who does that? Nah, but the new lass, she's a woman after me own heart. Proper English Breakfast, good old fashioned fry up, just like me Ma used to. Ye' canne beet it. Am tellin' ye Jim, try the black pudding, ye won't be sorry. Just don't ask what it is." There was a twinkle in Scotty's eye that suggested that it was something disgusting.

"I'll do that Scotty, see you later." Jim agreed in way for attempting to resume his passage across the room.

"Aye Captain, but if you've just got a sec. Who's the bonny wee laddie with the Doctor? McCoy's not been keeping secrets from us all has he?"

Laughing Jim answered his chief engineer. "No Scotty. It's his nephew; our new chef is his mother and Bones's sister."

"Well I'll be damned. I didn'e know he even had a sister." Scotty's communicator beeped, and rolling his eyes Scotty answered. "What is it now?"

"We have a situation down here Sir."

"Alright, alright! I'm on me way, d'ne touch anything till I get down there! Scotty out."

"Problem Scotty? You look tense." Jim quipped, fully able to see the tension that had gathered in his Engineer within seconds.

"I canne tell you Jim. Every year I keep getting new stock straight outa the Academy who canne tell the difference between a warp coil and a plasma conduit. It's like they're giving me cretins on purpose. I have a feeling that Admiral Archer has something to do with it. The man needs to let it go, the dog'll turn up eventually."

Laughing at Scotty's complaints Jim clapped the Scot on the shoulder before telling him to hang in there. Before Scotty could answer his communicator went off again.

"I told ya I was on me way!" Scotty yelled into the communicator, not even bothering to let the other person speak first, as he stalked his way down to the turbo lift.

As Jim sat down, at what he would now consider HIS table, he was still smirking at his chief engineer's behaviour. Finding that man on Delta Vega was easily one of the best things he had ever done.

"Captain Kirk!" Caleb exclaimed happily as he realised Jim had joined them.

"Good Morning Caleb." Nodding in the Doctor's direction, "Bones"

"Jim." Bones had his attention focused on the PADD in his left hand as he continued to eat and didn't even look up to address his friend.

"Captain Kirk?" Caleb was tugging lightly on the sleeve of Jim's uniform.

Turning to the boy, Jim was once again stuck by how little Vulcan like he was; for some reason Jim seriously doubted the Spock had ever been like this. But if he had it would have been something he would have liked to see.

"You know Caleb? How 'bout you just call me Jim like your uncle does?" Jim smiled as Caleb's face lit up. "All this 'Captain' business is too formal."

"Really?" Caleb's eyes light up with clear admiration for Jim. "When I grow up can I be a Captain of a Starship just like you?"

"I can't answer that question Caleb. Why don't you ask your mom?" He was chuffed that Caleb clearly admired him, but he couldn't let the boy find out just how he had become the Captain of the Enterprise, not just yet. Maybe when he was older and far less influential.

"She says I can be anything I want to be. I just have to work hard to do it, and I want my own ship one day." Caleb paused for a second, "And when I have time, I'm gonna be a musician."

That sparked Bones's interest as he managed to draw himself away from his PADD. "A musician? Has your momma taught you to play any instruments?" He was interested to see what his nephew could do.

When they were growing up both he and Elizabeth had music lessons from their Grandpa, and though Bones would never admit it, he was fairly skilled on the fiddle. Or at least he used to be, he hadn't played for years.

"Yeah, she taught me to play the fiddle and the guitar. Now she wants me to learn piano."

"He's quite good Leo. Just like you actually." Elizabeth announced her presence at the table, before placing a plate down in front of Jim. Who didn't notice as he was too busy staring at Bones.

"You can play the violin? Since when?"

A faint blush was creeping up Bones's face as he tried to maintain his focus on the PADD that he had been holding throughout breakfast. "Since I was a kid. And it's not a violin, it's a fiddle, there's a difference."

"I wouldn't know Bones, I'm not really a music person. Hey perhaps you could play us something sometime." Jim suggested showing genuine interest in his friend's apparent hidden talent.

"I don't play anymore." He snapped getting to his feet. "Now if you would excuse me, I have a patient waiting for me in sick bay."

Keeping his head low he made his way across the room, his pace several times faster than it normally was. Bones was so focused on making an escape from the mess; he only noticed that he was within the path of someone else until it was almost too late.

"Excuse me Doctor McCoy." Spock spoke as he stepped out of the way of the charging Doctor just in time. Bones did not slow down, but Spock still heard the mumbled comment telling him to 'watch where the hell he was going.'

Raising an eyebrow at the comment, Spock continued on his way over to where the Captain was seated with Caleb and his mother stood close by. Surely it would be more effective for Doctor McCoy to walk focusing upon a forwards direction, and not the floor, Spock found himself pondering as he took the same seat he had occupied the night before.

"Good morning Mr Spock." Elizabeth greeted him, before placing a bolw she had retrieved in front of him.

"Thank you. May I inquire as to where Dr McCoy was going?"

"Yeah, what's with the emergency exit routine?" Jim asked somewhat baffled over Bones' reaction.

"Don't mind Leonard. He never could take it well if he was embarrassed when we were kids. I guess he hasn't changed all that much, he'll be fine though, I'll make it up to him later." Glancing around the room she noticed that more officers were coming in for breakfast. Exhaling loudly, and without really noticing, Elizabeth rested her hand on Spock's shoulder.

"I hope you two can manage without me for a while, I'm going to be kept rather busy this morning as it seems. The sooner I get those Muppets I've been left with trained up properly the better." She huffed. "Caleb, make sure you behave for Mr Spock and the Captain."

"Sure Momma." Caleb wasn't really paying attention; he was re-engrossed with his colouring book of various cartoon animals.

Before she walked over to the next table she gave Spock's shoulder a slight squeeze.

Elizabeth may not have noticed her actions, but they did not go unnoticed. At first Spock tensed slightly, he did not really like people touching him, not since he and Nyota had chosen to part ways. But it did not take long for him to relax under her touch; she seemed to radiate peace and tranquillity.

Jim also noticed the touching. He sat there staring at the two of them, neither noticing. Contrary to popular belief, James Kirk was rather observant, at times he simply just chose not to comment on what he saw, but would store the information for use at a later date. Or, as in the case of the two adults in front of him, he would use his knowledge to force them together. It was bound to happen anyway, Spock was interested in her, and Jim could now tell that she was interested in him.

The problem was neither of them realised it yet. Yes, Jim had a fair amount of work cut out for him where Spock and Elizabeth were involved. His biggest problem would be avoiding Bones. If Bones found out what he was planning to do he would probably force a hypospray of something into Jim's neck again. Ever since the incident with Nero had taken place, Jim never felt completely at ease around Bones when the Doctor had a hypospray in his hand. This time however, instead of his hands swelling and getting numb tongue, Bones would do something that would probably blind him and make his balls shrivel and drop off.

Jim shuddered and winced merely at the thought. His involuntary movement went unnoticed.

Coming back to the present, Jim noticed that once again, Spock got something different to him and everyone else in the room. Not that Jim was complaining, his Full English was suiting him just fine, and whatever Spock had did not look overly appetising.

"Spock, what in God's name are you eating?" He asked eyeballing the bowl with distrust.

Looking up from his meal Spock stared at Jim for just a few seconds; recently Jim had come to realise this was the look Spock gave him when the Vulcan thought he had asked a stupid question. "Essentially, it's a Vulcan form of porridge."

Going back to his breakfast, Spock paused as Jim commented again. "Well whatever it is. It looks disgusting. Wouldn't you rather have what everyone else is having? I don't know what it is but this stuff here is awesome." Jim motioned over to the black disks of what appeared to be meat to the side of his plate.

"If you were to look back along the years we have served together, you may recall that you have never seen me eat meat. The majority of what you are eating is meat. As for my meal, it is highly nutritious, and it is something I have not had for a considerable amount of time. Taste generally is not a factor."

"But it is this time?"

"I have no comment on that matter."

Jim smirked, knowing exactly what was on the Vulcan's mind. Spock may be more intelligent than everyone on board the ship, but Jim could still read him like a book. Taking a bit of the black meat disk thing, he continued to eat, the smirk still prominent on his face.

"Jim?"

Caleb was asking for his attention again, Jim nodded for the boy to continue whilst he ate.

"That's black pudding."

'_Ah, the stuff Scotty was talking about,'_ Jim thought to himself, Scotty was right this stuff was pretty good. He nodded again to show Caleb he had acknowledged what was said.

"Yeah, my Momma makes it herself, and yesterday I helped her. It's made outta pork, onion, bread crumbs and something she called conjellied blood. But I don't think it's real blood, not if it has jelly in it, that would just be silly."

Upon hearing the bit about the congealed blood Jim paled, and slowly swallowed the food he was chewing. Scotty was right, he didn't want to know what was in that stuff, and now he felt a little bit sick.

* * *

As the day progressed, life on board the Enterprise became more stressful and hectic. They were due to leave Jupiter Station at 1300 hours. Meaning that for the duration of the morning most of the crew were scrambling around like headless chickens trying to make sure that everything was ready to go for launch. And was only after they had finally made way, the paperwork started to flow, which in many ways was more of a pain in the ass.

It was due to of the vast amount of paperwork that Spock had been hidden away in his office for most of the day. When he wasn't going over duty rosters or checking reports, he was on the bridge overseeing the science station making system checks and writing even more reports. So, despite the fact that it was after 2130, Spock had yet to enter the Mess Hall since breakfast.

He had, however, to his surprise, discovered that a meal had been left waiting for him in his office at 1330 when he retreated back there. It had never been unusual for him not to partake in a mid-day meal; he would often forego it and simply eat earlier in the evening when he was no longer on duty. However, days like this one prevented him from even thinking about getting to the Mess Hall before 2000 hours. So he was extremely thankful for the consideration Elizabeth had paid him.

So, upon walking into the Officer's Mess at close to 2200 hours, Spock was unsurprised to see it completely devoid of life. He could hear Elizabeth in the galley, at least he presumed it to be Elizabeth, there was music playing which distorted his hearing. Although he could not be completely sure, Spock was fairly certain that he was amongst the few officers that had yet to eat at that time. Approaching the galley, he attentively pushed the swinging door open. Glancing around the room, looking over the two kitchen staff that had their backs to him, Spock's eyes were instantly drawn to the figure of Elizabeth; she was dancing around the most disorganised kitchen he had ever seen to the tune she had playing over the sound system. He did not see the need to interrupt her, she was occupied with what she was doing and his need was not great. In addition to that, he found her rather captivating to watch.

Elizabeth was fully aware that Spock was standing in the doorway, she had heard him come in, even though it was clear he was trying to be quiet so he didn't disturb her. She wanted to see how long it would take him before he became impatient waiting for her to give him her attention. She knew that she was fond of the half Vulcan Commander; she wasn't going to lie to herself. He was another one of the reasons why she chose to work on this ship amongst all of the others that Starfleet had given her choice over.

She wanted to get to know the famed Commander Spock, the only Vulcan in Starfleet. She wanted to learn what she could expect from Caleb as he grew up. She knew a large amount about the Vulcan race, but they always kept certain parts of their lives private, Elizabeth had no idea what Caleb was going to be like when he hit puberty. She needed to know what to expect, and who better to learn that from other than the only other half human, half Vulcan in existence. She would rather learn from Spock, she had no desire to seek help from the Vulcan people in general; she didn't trust them as a race. But there was something about Spock that made her feel like she could trust him.

_'Perhaps it's his eyes, he has human eyes.'_ She wondered to herself.

It was quickly becoming clear that her refusing to acknowledge Spock was turning into a battle of wits, one she wasn't going to win, not this time at least. She caved.

"Mr Spock! What can I do you for?" She may have caved, but she refused to turn around to look at him.

Spock was surprised by her acknowledgement of him. He had not known she had been aware of his presence. Straightening his uniform shirt self-consciously, he stepped forwards into the room, all the while being watched by the two prep-cooks who were now aware of his presence.

"I would have thought my presence here was obvious, Miss Elizabeth, this being a ship's galley."

Elizabeth smiled; she recognised Vulcan humour when she heard it. Just because the Vulcan's didn't register it as humour, did not take away the fact it could be interpreted as such.

"Oh, you want to help us prepare tomorrow's breakfast?" She asked feigning surprise. "Well that's great! Grab a knife out of the top draw on the left and get started."

To anyone else it would have been obvious she was pulling his leg, but she knew that he would take her literally. Turning towards the Vulcan, she couldn't suppress the grin forming on her face as she saw the look of pure confusion in his eyes. His face didn't convey what he was feeling, but his eyes defiantly did.

"I'm joking Spock. Mind if I join you? I haven't eaten yet either."

Nodding his compliance, Spock watched her as she crossed the room to retrieve something from one of the ovens. She walked past him and was out the door before he could see what she had made. Following her example, he passed back into the mess leaving her two staff members to carry on with their work, and seeing her seated at a table, joined her.

Glancing down at the meal that had been laid out for him, he noticed that it was a dish that had been prepared with him in mind. Though it was by no means Vulcan, it was most defiantly vegetarian.

"It would appear you were expecting me Miss Elizabeth."

"Of course I was. I know exactly who has eaten and who hasn't. That's part of my job here on the Enterprise, to make sure that every single officer under my culinary care gets what they need. Those people who think they can get away with not eating properly, and skipping meals, will find something waiting for them in their quarters or in their offices. As I'm sure you've found out."

She was hinting to earlier that day. "I would like to thank you for that. I do not normally fall into a strategic routine for several days after the departure from space dock; it is unusual for me to eat before now."

Elizabeth nodded in understanding. She found it interesting that he was admitting this to her. With every other Vulcan she had ever come into contact with, getting them to admit to not being able to adjust quickly into a routine would be more difficult than getting blood out of a stone. They were a people that thrived on routine and ceremony.

"You know, I find it fascinating how integrated everyone is on board with each other. Like, earlier, for example, I was in sick bay to make it up to Leo for this morning. And seeing how he worked with his staff was surprising, Leo had never been the most sociable of all people, but the way he worked with that one nurse, Christine, they didn't ever need to speak to each other, she gave him what he needed, not a single word uttered."

"Yes, Dr McCoy and Nurse Chapel have been working together since our maiden voyage; their lack of need for verbal communication is rather impressive." Spock agreed. He normally found meal time conversation difficult. He had learned may things in his life time, but how to be sufficient at 'small talk' was not something he had mastered yet. However, with Elizabeth, it seemed to come with relative amount of ease.

"I know right?" She paused to finish swallowing what was in her mouth. "I wonder how Leonard's getting on. I left Caleb with him; they both need to get to know each other. That and sometimes I'm going to need a babysitter, and Leo's perfect for the role. He's surprisingly good with children."

They continued the rest of the meal in silence. It was a comfortable silence though. Usually Elizabeth hated silence, and took every opportunity to fill it with some form of sound, so she normally had music playing, and in some instances sang or hummed to herself.

As they were finishing, Elizabeth heard her communicator sound off. She knew it would be Leonard, he would be struggling with Caleb, she just knew it.

"Hello."

"Okay, one that is not the way to answer a communicator. And two, you better get your ass down here and get the sprog, he's annoying me." Elizabeth could hear the tension in her brother's voice.

"Good evening to you too Leonard."

"Pah, it's not evening. Evening was over a long time ago, it is clearly night time. Shouldn't you be putting Caleb to bed about now? 'Cause I think you should come and get him."

"Okay, it is not clearly any time of day. We're in the vastness of space; technically it's always night time here. And why don't you put him to bed?"

"I'm a Doctor damn it, not a babysitter. And I've tried, so now it's your turn. So come and get him before I give him a sedative." The threat in Leonard's voice was clear; he seriously would do it if she didn't do anything.

In an instant the joking, smiling Elizabeth was gone. The anger building up in her nearly exploded, but she kept her composure. "Leonard Henry McCoy, you dare put anything in my boy, and it'll be the last thing you ever do." Her tone was deadly; her maternal instinct had kicked into overdrive.

"Fine I won't sedate him. But I'm bringing him to you, the kid doesn't sleep." Bones backed down as his voice cracked slightly, knowing that his sister would be beyond pissed with him if he tried anything, no matter how tempting it was. The consequences would most defiantly outweigh the benefits.

"Of course he's not sleeping you idiot. Just because the ships chronometer says it's late, doesn't mean his body clock has adjusted yet." She snarled at her brother. "Just bring him to the Officer's Mess. I'm telling you Leonard, if one hair is out of place." She left the threat hanging over his head like the Sword of Damocles.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she looked towards Spock, a small and bashful smile tugged at her lips. "Sorry about that. My brother is a real moron sometimes."

"I believe your reaction would be considered normal Elizabeth. My own mother reacted like that sometimes when I was a child; she called it her mother's prerogative."

Elizabeth noticed that he had missed out the Miss, before using her name. For some reason, it made her heart flutter in her chest, progress had been made. "Still I don't know what Leo's problem is. He was fine with his own daughter when she was Caleb's age; he's forgotten how to parent apparently."

"I wasn't aware the Dr McCoy had a daughter." Spock revealed causing Elizabeth to look in surprise.

"Really? He's certainly kept our family a secret for a while then."

They sat in silence once more while Elizabeth pondered the issue of her brother and his secrecy. The silence was then disrupted by Caleb coming into the room and immediately running over to his mother, a grin plastered on his face. He flung his arms around her waist, causing her to laugh.

"Hiya Momma."

"Hey there baby." Pushing the hair back from his face, she asked, "Did you have fun with Uncle Leo?"

At that moment 'Uncle Leo' made an appearance in the door way. To say the least, he looked less than fine. Hell, he looked dreadful, completely worn out. He had bags under his eyes, his hair was a mess and his uniform was wrinkled to within an inch of its life. It took everything Elizabeth had not to burst out laughing at him.

Noticing the look on his sister's face, Bones was not amused, his eye started to twitch involuntarily. "There! I have delivered the sprog, unharmed. I'm going to bed. Do not disturb me. You will regret it."

And with that Bones took his leave, murmuring something about spending seven years at medical school, and being reduced to babysitting. He didn't even notice that Elizabeth and Spock had been alone together and sharing a meal.

Caleb was worked up, and regardless of what she had told her brother, Elizabeth needed to get him to sleep, and the sooner he was out like a light, the better. There was only one way to ensure he would sleep.

"Right then Caleb. Why don't you tell Mr Spock all about what you did with Uncle Leo, and I'll go and make you a hot chocolate? Kay?"

Without giving time for either half Vulcan to say anything in protest, she was on her feet and though the galley door.


End file.
